Page 63 of Back to You

“Ethan, for God’s sake. Just stop and talk to me.”

“About what?” Ethan shouted, rounding on his best friend. “About how I lost the love of my life? And there he sits on a date, like we were nothing. I think about him every minute of every day, and he’s already forgotten me.”

“There’s no way he’s forgotten you,” Lake said. “I’m sure there’s an explanation for this.”

“It’s pretty obvious, Lake! I’ve been replaced! In two months! Two months!” he cried, slowly falling apart right there on the sidewalk. “I’ve been dying for two months!” He buried his face in his hands as people walked past and stared.

Lake grabbed him and pulled him in tight. They were silent for several long minutes.

“Ethan, I want you to see a therapist,” Lake said quietly. “What you’re doing isn’t heathy.”

Ethan kept his face in his hands for a few more minutes, mind a whirlwind of pain and chaos. “You’re right,” he finally whispered.

“What?”

“You’re right. I can’t live like this anymore.”

“Thank God,” Lake said. “I can set it up, I’ll make it so you don’t have to do a thing, just show up. I’ll even find someone who does teletherapy if you don’t want to leave the office. This will be so good for you, Ethan. I promise.”

The two huddled together there on the sidewalk as Ethan wept.

***

It was Thursday, which meant it was the weekly bread sale. Brandon was plowing through baking as many loaves of bread as possible when the door banged open.

“You couldn’t have told me you were dating?!” yelped an enraged Lake.

“What the fuck? Where did you come from, and what are you talking about?” Brandon said, scraping dough off his hands.

“We saw you last night at the coffee shop,” Lake said. He slumped and said in a quieter voice, “You could have warned me you were dating so that I could prepare him.”

“I’m not dating, that was just a friend. Wait …” A sick sense of horror washed over Brandon. “Who is we?”

“What?”

“You said ‘we saw you,’ who is we?”

“Me and Ethan.”

“Oh no,” Brandon said.

“He was broken, Brandon. It’s like there’s been no time since you broke up. Two months gone in a second.”

“You have to tell him, Lake. You have to tell him it wasn’t a date. I wouldn’t do that to him. I swear.”

Lake deflated. “I believe you. I’m sorry I burst in here like that. It’s not really any of my business.”

“It is your business — I think we’ve both made it your business, and Michelle’s, and Steven’s, and Marcus’s. I’m just sorry you’re all caught up in this.”

“I’m not. I love you both, and I hate seeing either of you like this. But Ethan … he’s not doing well, Brandon. I don’t mean to make you feel bad, but this really set him back.”

Brandon looked down at the dough he had been kneading, lost in thought. “Should I go see him?”

Lake’s eye widened. “You’d be willing to do that?”

“I love him, Lake. That never stopped. I don’t want him to be suffering like this if there’s something I can do to help.”

“I’ll be honest, I don’t know if it would help or hurt at this point.”

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